"Good" Persons, "Good" Cops?

Do you consider yourself to be a "good" person or a "good" police officer? Good enough for heaven?  By what (and whose) standard? 

While I address this subject via the "Good Person Test" link I include at the end of every Centurion Bible study (this one included), God has used some recent discussions to press me into sharing a Bible study that directly addresses this issue.  Frankly, a great many -- perhaps even a majority -- of both police officers and Americans in general believe that they are "Christians" and "deserve" to go to heaven (and escape hell) because, well, they are "good" cops, good people, etc.  Meaning, of course, that they are not "bad" persons and only really "bad persons" such as murderers, thieves and people like (as one one officer once told me) "Hitler and Stalin" go to hell.  Really?  What does God say to us on this subject through His Word, the Bible (a text that the evidence proves to be innerant and has withstood innumerable attacks over the centuries)?  Let's dig in!

Our primary text for this study is Jesus' own words in Matthew 19:16-26.  The first thing we note in this passage involving the rich young ruler (a person in authority -- like us in law enforcement but with a whole lot more money -- LOL) is asking the right question: "What good deed must I do to have eternal life?" In asking the question, he acknowledges the fact that, despite all his efforts thus far, there is something lacking, and he wants to know what else must be done to obtain eternal life. However, even though he is asking the right question, he is asking it from the wrong worldview -- meaning one of merit ("...good deed..." and the Law -- see Galatians 3:24). 

The second thing to note is Jesus' response to the ruler's question (and the question of many today -- especially those in law enforcement): Why is he inquiring into what is good? In other words, Jesus is trying to get to the heart of the matter, namely, that no one is good and no one does good except God Himself. As noted earlier, the man is operating under a false premise that he should be able to "earn" or otherwise "badge" his way into heaven by his so-called "good" deeds. In response, Jesus says that if the ruler wants eternal life he should keep the commandments. In saying this, Jesus is not advocating a works-based righteousness. Rather, Jesus is challenging the young man's suppositions by showing the man's shallow understanding of the Law and human ability.

The ruler's response is very telling. When told to keep the commandments, he asks Jesus, "Which ones?" Jesus continues to gently show the man the error of his ways by giving him the second table of the Law, i.e., the commandments that deal with our relationships to other people. You can almost sense the frustration in the young man's response when he tells Jesus that he has kept all of these since his youth. Two things to point out here: first, the irony in the man's response. In saying he has kept all those commandments since his youth, he has broken the commandment regarding false witness. If he were truly being honest, he would have said that, as hard as he has tried to keep the commandments, he fails on a daily basis. Has he EVER lied? EVER lusted? EVER sinned in any way? He has a shallow understanding of the Law and an inflated, prideful and very "cop-like" opinion of his own ability. Second, he still knows intuitively that he is not good enough; he asks Jesus, "What do I still lack?"

Jesus now confronts the young man's self-righteousness. He tells him that, if he wishes to be perfect (i.e., complete), he must sell all that he has and come follow Him. Jesus has completely investigated the man's "lack" and reveals the truth -- his attachment to his wealth. The man's great wealth has become an idol in his life in much the same way that "the badge" (the symbol of our God-ordained authority) often becomes an idol in the life of a police officer. He claimed to have kept all the commandments, but in reality he couldn't even keep the first one -- to have no other gods (idols) before the Lord!  Like many officers, the young man turned his back on Jesus and walked away. His "god" was his wealth, and he chose it over Jesus.

Jesus now turns to His disciples to teach them a principle: "Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God." This was shocking to the disciples, who held the common idea that riches were a sign of God's blessing to "good" people. But Jesus points out the obstacle that riches often are, in their tendency to fuel self-sufficiency (just as a great many officers are completely attached to our own self-sufficiency). His disciples ask, "Who then can be saved?" Jesus answers by reminding the disciples (His followers) that salvation is of God alone: "With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible."

Who can be saved? If left up to us, no one!  Why is being a "good person" or a "good cop" not enough to get us into heaven? Because no one is a "good" person; there is only one who is good, and that is God Himself (Romans 3:10-12). The Bible says that all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God ( Romans 3:23 ). The Bible also says that the wages of our sin is death (ultimately hell) --  Romans 6:23 . Fortunately, out of great His love for us (John 3:16), God did not wait until we somehow learned to be "good" enough (impossible): while we were in our sinful state, He sent His Son, Jesus Christ, to die for us -- the unrighteous ( Romans 5:8 ).

Salvation is not based on our flawed idea of goodness but on Jesus' perfect goodness.  The message of the gospel is that we can never be "good" enough to get to heaven or escape hell on our own. We must recognize that we are sinners who fall short of God's glory, and we must obey the command to repent of our sins and place our faith and trust in Jesus Christ. Christ alone was good enough to earn heaven, and He gives His righteousness to those who "repent and believe" in His name (Mark 1:15,  Romans 1:17 ).

On another occasion, Jesus reminded His disciples that He was preparing a place for them in His Father's house (heaven). Thomas, one of the disciples (yes, "doubting Thomas), asked Him, " How can we know the way?" Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me" ( John 14: 5-6). Nope -- no "other" way!

Many police officers (and perhaps most in general) say that they have "tried to be a good person" and therefore "deserve" or have "earned" heaven because of all we deal with in law enforcement (effectively, using our badge as a Monopoly-esque "get out of hell - free" card).  Yet God says that in order to be saved we must be perfect ( Matthew 5:48).  Again, how can ANYONE be perfect?  Without Christ, we can't!

In my own teaching/messages on this issue, I often point out that it was the "cops" of Jesus' day who tortured and murdered Him (not "good persons" to be sure). Likewise, it was a convicted thief (a "bad" person) whom our Savior "rescued" from a just sentence in hell (see "What can we learn from the thief on the cross?").  Clearly, this person whom we and most everyone else would call "bad" turned in faith alone to Christ for his salvation and was in fact saved (although I don't recommend that you wait until just before you die to cry out to God to save you -- you are most unlikely to have that opportunity and there are no "second chances" after your last breath in this life).

Folks, short of the Rapture, death is certain, while (for the unbeliever) heaven most certainly is not! Being "good" -- including even our honorable service in law enforcement -- cannot earn us heaven or serve as an escape from hell when this life ends. Being a born again follower of Christ (a "Christian" as God defines it) is the only answer. Do you have that?  Let me again suggest (for the "doubting Thomas" out there) that you take the "Good Person Test" and see how you do.  Did you pass?  If not, I urge you to dig into the following:

(1) J esus' first recorded words in His earthly ministry were and remain: " Repent and believe in the Good News " ( Mark 1:15 ).  To repent  is a "180" -- a complete, radical change of mind and heart as it relates our sin. To believe  as He intends it here is to cry out to God for your salvation and wholeheartedly  surrender in faith to Christ in the same way we have "faith" that our body armor will do its job against the rounds it is intended to stop, that our brakes will work when running Code, or that a soldier's parachute will open when it is supposed to (we stake our very lives on it)!  And the "Good News" that Jesus refers to here? It is of course His gospel and plan of salvation.

(2) This same concept of " believe " (the saving kind) is further revealed in John 3:1-21  where Jesus says, "... you must be born again. " Note our Lord's emphasis on the word " must " (not "may" or "should"): this is ultimately the life-saving/life-changing  personal relationship with Jesus Christ that I stress here every week (see What does it mean to be a born again Christian ?). 

Then, with this in place, open to heart and embrace,  How can I be saved? 

Still in doubt?  Check out this powerful, short video message by my friend, fellow officer and noted trainer, Travis Yates:  Cops and Salvation.